[attr="class","boruta"]

[attr="class","icon"]

”glad to help.”[break][break]

grass and weeds crunched beneath his boots, some burnt from the long summer, turned a muted gold.[break][break]

”just working on the farm, mainly,” he replied to greyson’s question. “but i’ve been thinkin’ about goin’ back at some point. lars was pretty cool about everything, after that interview my brother did.”[break][break]

[break][break]

[attr="class","boruta"]

[attr="class","icon"]

he slid over the energy drink, happy to have it disposed of before roman could make a terrible mistake that he wouldn’t want to be around for.[break][break]

”yeah, no kidding. maybe will got it for him, i dunno.”[break][break]

he was back in the fridge, pulling things out for lunch. lettuce, tomato, swiss cheese, smoked lechonk…[break][break]

”sandwich?”[break][break]

[attr="class","boruta"]

[attr="class","icon"]

he was different, but still the same in the energy behind every movement and brush of lips and skin, as enamored with her as he ever had been before. he fell into a timelessly familiar dance, lowering to the cool grass and the smell of earth, and her embrace.[break][break]

he pulled her to him, into his lap if she allowed, meeting every hint of wanting in her wandering hands with the warm need to give.[break][break]

fingers curled at the curve of her hips, his mouth drifting down the plane of her jaw to tickle behind her ear with a smile and tell her again, like he used to, ”you’re so beautiful.”[break][break]

[attr="class","boruta"]

[attr="class","icon"]

bo blinked. on one hand, he felt sympathetic, remembering when he’d been so confused. it felt suddenly weird that it had been the crumbling man in front of him to help confirm it once and for all: he was bisexual.[break][break]

all that clarity, thanks to one summer night that ollie either didn’t remember, or was in denial of ever having happened in the first place.[break][break]

he recalled being really drunk himself. he wasn’t sure what to make of it.[break][break]

”huh.”[break][break]

his brow furrowed a little, waiting for further explanation for the distress and shouting at the door in morning hours.[break][break]

[attr="class","boruta"]

[attr="class","icon"]

his eye twitched as a beam of sunlight sniped him through the window. he waited for the horrifying explanation ollie was about to share with them, and what fell out of the blushing man’s mouth elicited a slow, groggy blink, an accepting nod that this was how his morning was going to go before chores, and a turn in the direction of the kitchen. ”i’ll be right back.”[break][break]

there was the sound of three mugs taken out of a cabinet, something clattering (but not breaking), an incoherent grumble, and soon enough the smell of freshly brewed coffee would be wafting.[break][break]

making his way back, he propped himself against the wall with his arms crossed, made himself stable enough to fall back asleep that way, and watched wearily for further explanation. ”okay.” maybe it meant i'm ready for storytime.[break][break]

[attr="class","boruta"]

[attr="class","icon"]

food and eggnog were found, ranger npc’s were caught up with, and eventually bo found himself able to pull away and back to willow atkins. he did not immediately realize she was already three ciders deep.[break][break]

”barf?” he followed her stare to PENELOPE LIVY and ollie morales . ”oh.”[break][break]

though he wasn’t a fan either, he quickly thought of the strikes his family already had: his fight at the last holiday function. her throwing champagne. their son stabbing someone at the soiree. his brother ratting on all of them for their criminal livelihoods.[break][break]

his brother ratting to penelope, to be precise.[break][break]

”i support you,” he decided. ”just say the word and i’ll prepare the getaway.”[break][break]

his eyes already on them all, he caught every moment of the sudden, passionate kiss bestowed upon GIDEON GRAVES by ollie morales , who had previously looked about as pained as bo had ever seen him. sort of a jarring turn of events.[break][break]

”huh. looks like ollie’s got it figured out now. good for him.”

[break][break]




[newclass=".boruta"]--accent:#bd8f3a; position:relative; z-index:1; overflow:hidden; [/newclass]

[newclass=".boruta blockquote"]width:370px; height:auto; background-color: #292929; text-align: justify; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 35px; padding-bottom: 40px; padding-top: 25px; border-left: 5px #252525 solid; border-right: 5px #252525 solid;border-top: 5px #252525 solid; line-height: 15.5px; letter-spacing: .7px; font-size:12px;[/newclass]

[newclass=".boruta .icon"]background-image:url(https://i.imgur.com/r7tpZef.png); height:100px; width:100px; margin:-70px 29px 19px 10px; float:left; border-radius:20px; border:6px var(--accent) solid; outline:10px #252525 solid;[/newclass]

[newclass=".boruta blockquote b, .boruta blockquote i"]color:var(--accent); } .boruta blockquote b { font-size:14px!important } .boruta blockquote u { font-style:italic; color:var(--accent); text-decoration:underline dotted; border-bottom:none; letter-spacing:1px; [/newclass]

[newclass=".boruta .top"]background-color:var(--accent); background-image:url(https://image.ibb.co/dMFuMc/flower.png); background-size: cover; width: 430px; height: 68px; text-align: center; margin-left:auto; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: -50px; padding: 10px 10px 10px 0px; border-radius: 25px 25px 0px 0px; border: 5px #252525 solid;[/newclass]

[newclass=".boruta .bottom"]background-color:#222222; background-image:url(https://image.ibb.co/dMFuMc/flower.png); background-size: cover; width: 340px; padding:50px; height: auto; text-align: center; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top:-60px; padding: 10px 50px 10px; border-radius: 0px 0px 25px 25px; border: 5px #252525 solid; line-height: 15.5px; letter-spacing: .7px; font-size:12px;[/newclass]

[newclass=".boruta .bottom a"]font:bold 15px 'Poppins';[/newclass]

[newclass=".boruta .bottom b, .boruta .bottom i"]color:var(--accent); } .boruta .bottom b { font-size:14px!important } .boruta .bottom u { font-style:italic; color:var(--accent); text-decoration:underline solid; border-bottom:none; letter-spacing:1px; [/newclass]

[newclass=".boruta .credit a"]font-size:12px; position:absolute; z-index:99; right:100px; bottom:10px; opacity:0.3;[/newclass]

[attr="class","boruta"]

[attr="class","icon"]

a second too late, he realized how dumb his question sounded. an awkward moment passed where she didn’t answer, which only confirmed it.[break][break]

as he stared at taller trees and thought back in time, internally running from the last moment, he wondered, had roman been conceived there? [break][break]

he opened his mouth to ask, but her hand went up to cradle his jaw, and her eyes suddenly became mesmerizing, flecked with the fading purple light of the sunset. pleasantly silenced, he smiled back and leaned in, tentatively at first. there was no moonshine in his system, only a too-clear memory of that day in the barn, when he’d fucked up.[break][break]

however, as his lips brushed hers, such doubt faded, and her warm breath awakened something old and instinctive within him. a hand slid gently over the back of her neck, combing through blonde hair he pushed behind her ear before kissing her more deeply.[break][break]

[attr="class","boruta"]

[attr="class","icon"]

bo assumed everyone felt the way greyson did, so the sort of bitter air about him was not surprising–but it became more apparent simply by the contrast of his sudden amusement.[break][break]

huh.[break][break]

oh well. he figured the best he could do was pretend he didn’t notice and prove his good character moving forward.[break][break]

”easy. if you say so. i’ll be following your lead.”[break][break]

[break][break]

[attr="class","boruta"]

[attr="class","icon"]

so he would–but not immediately. not that afternoon, on an empty stomach that suddenly felt sick not just from emptiness but also from fear. he would eat a sandwich, and perhaps wait for cian to leave first. that way, if something bad had happened, his little brother would neither see him cry nor be within his reach.[break][break]

he nodded towards the house and started that way. it was a quiet walk if cian let it be. when they got to the door, he went in ahead, and bounced it on his fingers.[break][break]

the fridge was the next stop. ”want something to drink? water, tea… cider… whatever this is… he pulled out a can of something fluorescent, glancing over the label. ’primal charge!’ it screamed in silent aggression, ’320 mg caffeine – feel wild, embrace the primal roar!’ he put it back on the shelf and grabbed the water pitcher.[break][break]